2021 NFL Draft: 5 first time head coaches that will be hired before the draft

Joe Brady, Carolina Panthers Offensive Coordinator

At just 31-years old, Joe Brady would become one of the youngest head coaches in NFL history if he would be given a job heading into the 2021 NFL Draft. However, we’ve not only seen success from coaches around Brady’s age, but we’ve seen it recently in Sean McVay.

Brady is only in his second season as a coordinator and his first at the NFL level, but it’s hard to ignore the track record he’s already put together. In just his eighth year of coaching total, he’s already pushing his name into the conversation to become a head coach.

Brady made a name for himself last year at LSU, his only season with the Tigers. Leading LSU’s offense to a National Championship, Brady helped mentor Joe Burrow to a Heisman trophy while also producing one of the most dominant college football teams in recent memory. With Brady and Burrow now gone, along with many others, LSU has regressed, which is only helping Brady’s case.

Additionally, he followed Matt Rhule to the NFL this year to help turn around the Carolina Panthers who were assumed to be one of the worst teams in football. Instead, the Panthers are 3-3 after six weeks and that’s with losing their best player in Christian McCaffrey. Brady has been able to get creative with the players he has, helping Carolina stay competitive against all odds.

All those things put together point towards Brady at least getting an interview this offseason. Being so young as well as having so much success is exactly what teams hope comes across the radar when finding a new head coach.